Page 10 of Wraith

Chapter Nine

She threwup all over my fucking floor and passed the hell out. She lasted much longer than I thought she would when I started hacking away at her blistered hand. I’m not getting shit out of the woman, and frankly, I’m starting to not give a shit. She came here on a mission to kill me, and each time our eyes connect, I can see the hate brewing in the storm cloud of her deep chocolate orbs. I can’t help but try to place her—the familiarity of her face and movements. I feel like I know her. The thought is absurd, but she came here forme, not just to fulfill a contract. This is personal for her. I can feel it, see it when she glares at me, taste it in the air. This woman wants me dead, and it isn’t because of some contract shetook.

Lesson number one in the hitman’s guide to taking down your target: don’t make shit personal.I plan on seeing how many more rules I can get her to break when she wakes up. Until then, I bandage up her hands, placing a burn balm on the inside to speed up the healingprocess.

I eat, get comfortable—not really—on the chair once again, and try to find some sleep, but it as always evades me. About the time the dark blue sky shines from the moon beaming in through the small window in the kitchen, I sense her stirring. She still makes no sound but I know the moment she is aware of her surroundings. Glancing over I catch the flash of her eyes in the silver glow of moonlight. Her messy mass of hair falling from her destroyed braid seems to catch the glint also, giving the illusion she carries a hallo around her head. Which I know not to be true. The woman is no angel, maybe the angel of death, but that is all I will give her. Stunning as she may be, she is still here to kill me.Now I just need to figure out why. “That was a short nap,” I say breaking the silence. She ceases all movement and continues starting in the opposite direction of me. “I’m guessing you need to take a piss at some point?” I ask, rising to my feet. The fact that she hasn’t messed the bed is surprising to me. Most people under duress piss themselves from fear, or pain,but she is not most people. Far from it. The option of being able to relieve herself makes her head snap my way, confusion written all over her still scowling features. “I’m not a complete animal. And besides,” I start untying the binds on her feet, “I have already had to endure cleaning up your vomit. I rather not have to clean up your other excretions.” Tossing the rope to the side I go for the next bind when her foot swings out to connect with my jaw but I stop it mid kick. “Now, now. You be a good girl and I won’t have to put another knot on that pretty little head of yours,” I growl and forcefully toss her ankle away from me. It lands with a bounce on the thin mattress. She must decide to comply because after that she stays still and allows me to untieher.

“Outhouse is a small walk from the cabin. Let’s go.” I flick my chin to the door. I can tell she wants to object due to her lack of clothes and footwear but her need to use the facilities keeps her quiet. She starts toward the door and dares to stop and grab at my coat. “That would be a no on the coat. Keep walking.” I grab at my coat and pull it on with a chuckle when she throws a glare at me. She opens the door and a gust of ice cold wind blows in and smacks us both in the face. With the temperature being below zero, her attempts to run away would be futile and just plain fucking stupid. Maybe forcing her out in the cold night with only her bra and panties is not such a good idea given the fact she might freeze to death before she even gets to the shitter but I’m not going to give the girl a chance toescape.

She is quick with her pace and is in the small building doing her business in only seconds, but after more than two minutes inside, I decide she is taking way too long and open the door. Little bitch is ready for me and lands a hard punch right to the middle of my goddamn face. “Motherfuckinghell!” I feel the hot trickle of blood flowing freely from my nose as my hand goes to my face to protect myself further. She takes her chance to dart past me back to the cabin but I’m able to extend my booted foot out far enough to trip her. Her body falls to the snow packed trail with a slap and I’m on her. Straddling her waist as she tries to fight me off, the cold clearly getting to her, making her movements slow. Before she can get any further in her escape attempt my forehead comes crashing down onto hers sending as sickening crack of our skulls ringing through the night. Her head bounces off the ground and her eyes roll back into their sockets. “God damn you, girl,” I grumble as pull her up over my shoulder and pack her back into thecabin.

Tossing her onto the bed I decide that maybe next time I will just let her piss in a damn pot while still tied to the bed. Her body is cold and her plump lips are quickly losing their color. Shit, I may have fucked up by making her take the walk to the outhouse almost naked. I could even tell as she was fighting me that she wasn’t at a hundred percent. The girl is a fearless tiger and didn’t let the cold stop her from putting up a fight. That spark inside her is starting to go out now and I know if I don’t get the woman warmed up, she is as good as dead. The cabin is warm but she needs heat. Taking off my coat I hang it back up by the door and strip off my button up flannel shirt. My bare chest along her naked skin will help and I’m not going to lie, feeling a body next to me after having been alone for such a long time is going to benice.

Making sure her binds are secure, I position myself awkwardly on the bed above her and bring a blanket up over the top of us. While trying to keep my weight from crushing her I gently let our flesh meet. Her ice-cold stomach comes into contact with my heated one and I nearly flinch away. Melding myself along her cold body it doesn’t take long until I feel her temperature start to rise and her lips to regain their original color. No more blue for mytiger.

Mytiger?

Maybe my brain got frost bite, but Jesus, I either need to kill this girl or let her killme.

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